East Kilbride Thistle ruing cup call-off as fixtures continue to pile up

Billy Campbell knows his side will face a hectic schedule later in the season

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BILLY CAMPBELL has been left ruing Saturday’s Junior Cup call-off because it gives his East Kilbride Thistle side an even bigger fixture pile-up in the league.

The Showpark side were due to host Glenafton on Saturday but the match was postponed less than an hour before kick-off with the teams set to try again this weekend.

It’s a big blow to Thistle’s promotion hopes in the league. They have played seven games less than Central District Second Division leaders Glasgow Perthshire, who are 20 points clear of the Jags.

Their latest postponement means another weekend away from league business this Saturday for the rescheduled tie with Glenafton.

Weather permitting, they will have to squeeze in an extra eight league games compared to their rivals, likely leading to three games a week at some stage.

Thistle have managed to play just eight league matches this term and after seeing the Glenafton game bite the dust, Campbell told the News: “It puts us back another week in the league and that’s not great when we are already playing catch-up.

“It’s very frustrating because we need to be playing games and, as the cup takes precedence over the league, we need to go again on Saturday and hope that it’s on.”

Jags chairman Peter Kelsall hit out at the referee’s decision to call the game off, branding it a shambles.

While Campbell believes the game should have been played, he told the News he accepts the official’s decision to stop the game going ahead due to a small part of the pitch being deemed unplayable.

Campbell said: “If the referee has any doubt in his mind, he has to go with his judgment.

“There was a wee bit in the corner of the pitch that hadn’t been exposed to the sun.

“There was no inspection called in the morning as everyone thought the pitch was fine.

East Kilbride captain Alan McFadden

“We thought it was playable but the referee said the area was unsafe.

“For the safety of the players, the decision was taken to call the game off. Another hour and it would have been fine, so we are disappointed.

“It was quite late on that the game was called off and everyone was gutted but we have to respect his decision.”

As it stands in the league, Thistle would go top if they won all their games in hand but skipper Alan McFadden knows it will be a huge task.

He said: “It’s mad that if we win all our games we’d be a point ahead of Glasgow Perthshire. But the games are going to bottleneck as we get towards the end of the season and when you are playing three games a week, it’s very difficult.

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“The players will be pushed to the limit and I’ve been in this position before. You start picking up injuries because of it.

“It’s very frustrating but we need to try and take it game by game, focusing on each one and try not to let it get to us.”

The Showpark pitch is notorious for falling foul of the weather and when McFadden looks across town at East Kilbride FC’s artificial surface at K-Park, he reckons that has to be the future for the club.

He said: “It’s not just our park that’s the problem, it’s the elements in East Kilbride.

Thistle's neighbours East Kilbride FC play on an artificial surface at K-Park

“We are much higher up than other places and we suffer for it.

“I’m not a fan of astroturf pitches but you look at EKFC and their games are on every week.

“A lot of teams in the Juniors have changed to it and they reap the benefits of it. Getting your games on makes a big difference and, hopefully, we go down that road in the future.”